	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS

December 11, 2015

Caroline Masson

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Q. Just the round you needed, wasn't it?
CAROLINE MASSON: That's exactly what I needed. Obviously my goal to come back after a bad round yesterday. I knew Shanshan was going to be very far away knowing her playing on the LPGA Tour. I wanted to play as good as I can and show that yesterday was not the way I should play on this course.

Q. What was the difference?
CAROLINE MASSON: Yesterday was just not a good day. I just played bad. Sometimes it's that easy and you've just got to accept it. I just didn't hit it well and whenever I had a few chances, I didn't make the putts. At first I played well and didn't make the putts and today I felt like I played a little better and just made all the putts I had to make. Yeah, that feels a lot more rewarding.

Q. A couple of tees have been moved forward. How different is the course playing today, if at all?
CAROLINE MASSON: It's different with the tees up. It's fun. I think they should do that more often in any tournament. Makes you think a little different and makes you play a little more aggressive. It's fun for us to drive some par 4s, too. The guys do it all the time and it's fun for us to do it, too. It plays great.

Today was a little bit windy, so it's still a big challenge and you really have to think and it's very hard to judge the wind right. Moving up to tees on the par 5s and on the par 4s even gives us a few shots back maybe which helps.

Q. Shanshan is almost nine shots ahead of you at the moment and looks like she might just make a few more birdies. What will your thoughts be when you go into the final day knowing that even if you're in second place, the difference is going to be about nine or ten shots?
CAROLINE MASSON: Coming into this tournament, obviously I'm here to win, but I know, first of all, I have to beat Shanshan. This golf course, I guess it's perfect for her. She's a very consistent player, very good putter. She just goes out there -- and you know she's going to pretty much 5-under every day. You have to assume that.

Obviously with me shooting a bad round yesterday and shooting even par and being ten shots back, you know that you probably can't win this tournament anymore, which is okay. It's my fault. I knew I would have to play my best golf to keep up with her. For me, I'm not really looking at her. I didn't really look at the leaderboards today. It's just about getting a few shots back and finish as good as I can.

Obviously playing for second which sounds bad but you know it's not when Shanshan is here. Just having fun out there and just shoot another good round tomorrow.

Q. What about the golf course today, you shot 5-under, and that was by far the best round. The only person who can perhaps beat that is Shanshan. The tees have been moved up, but what is the reason that the scores are not really reflected? Is it the conditions are that tough out there?
CAROLINE MASSON: The thing is the tees have been moved up. But one par 5 where maybe it helps you, it's still a tough second shot where you still probably have -- because the pin was on the back, you still probably have a wood in your hand. I hit it in the rough so it didn't matter. The two par 4s that were moved up, one you can go for the green.

I felt like honestly, I hit probably the perfect shot. It was high with the downwind. It pitched in the perfect spot on the green and it still went over. You don't make eagles or stuff. The other par 4 it was totally useless because it was into the wind and it's still like 240 meters to the front. There's no point really going for it.

Moving it up, it doesn't always make the course easier, only if you can hit the perfect shot. Overall I think it's still windy for everybody today, and this course gets a lot harder when it's windy and when you don't hit it in the fairway all the time, because the rough can be tricky sometimes. I think that's the reason. The wind is never easy, and even if you have a couple tees moved up, it doesn't make such a big difference.

Q. Can I just ask you, one of your compatriots this year had a very bad experience leading by nine shots this year in the same country, Martin Kaymer. Does that kind of give you some kind of a hope that even if somebody is playing that well, something can happen and you have put yourself in position?
CAROLINE MASSON: I just don't think about it. What I have to do is focus on myself and shoot a good round tomorrow. That's all I want to do and that's all I want to think about. I'm not wishing a round like that to anybody, and plus I don't think that Shanshan is even able to shoot a bad round here.

I'm very relaxed about it. You're not hoping for someone to do really, really bad. It's about me tomorrow, like concentrating on myself and focusing and just shooting a good round and see what happens. You can't influence what other people do, and that's why I don't really want to think about it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297